Wednesday, November 7, 2007

2007 FC 1147 -- good news for the rule of law

On November 5, 2007 (with admirable timing, preceding November 11), The Honourable Madam Justice Mactavish ruled in favour of Amnesty International and the Britsh Columbia Civil Liberties Association ("Applicants") and against the Canadian government, in the forms of the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Minister of National Defence, and the Attorney General of Canada ('Respondents"). The government had sought to strike an application for judicial review with respect to "actions or potential actions " of the Canadian Forces deployed in the Islamic Republic of Aghanistan, particularly with regard to prisoners taken by Canadian amed forces.

The details are here.

The government's arguments seemed frivolous. I don't understand why the case is proceeding on the basis of the Canadian Charter, rather than International Humanitarian Law, but the good news is that the review is in fact proceeding.